Old Customhouse (Monterey, California)

The Old Customhouse is a Spanish Colonial style adobe structure built around 1827 by the Mexican government in the Pueblo de Monterey, Alta California, in present-day Monterey County in the U.S. state of California.[4][5] The former custom house (Aduana in Spanish) is the state's first designated California Historical Landmark, marking the site where U.S. Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American flag and declared California part of the United States in 1846.[1]

Old Customhouse
The Old Monterey Customhouse
Location in the Monterey Peninsula
LocationCalle Principal, Monterey, California
Coordinates 36°36′11.7″N 121°53′36.8″W
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built1827
ArchitectThomas O. Larkin
Architectural styleSpanish Colonial Adobe
NRHP reference No.66000217[2]
CHISL No.1[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLDecember 19, 1960[3]
Designated CHISL1932

History
The Old Custom House in Monterey, California in 1936

In 1821 New Spain—Mexico won independence from Spain, in the Mexican War of Independence, and for nearly 25 years Monterey was in the Mexican Territory of Alta California. Under Mexican rule the trade restrictions were lifted and coastal ports were opened to foreign trade. This drew in trade from British, American, and South American traders.

To collect customs duties (tax monies) at the Monterey Bay port, the Mexican government built the Customhouse, making it the oldest government building in present-day California. On July 7, 1846, during the Mexican-American war, Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American Flag, declaring California part of the United States.

Landmark

The Monterey Customs House was a landmark that the Native Sons of the Golden West determined should not disappear if within their power to prevent it. The property belonged to the United States Government, but the Native Sons of the Golden West obtained a lease of the buildings and grounds and restored them in the early 1900s.[6] The lease was ultimately transferred to a State Commission appointed under a legislative act passed in 1901 which act also carried an appropriation for further restoration of the building.

The Customhouse became the first California Historical Landmark on June 1, 1932,[1] and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is part of the larger Monterey State Historic Park, itself a National Historic Landmark District along with the nearby Larkin House.

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See also

References
  1. "Custom house". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. NHL Summary
  4. James Dillon (April 26, 1976). "Old Custom House" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. National Park Service. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. James Dillon. "Old Custom House" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  6. "Monterey's Custom House". Monterey County Historical Society. 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
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